Pipe spinner



4 Sheets-Sheet 1 ATTORNEY.

N wE N A. L. STONE PIPE SPINNER Jan. 15, 1952 Filed March 50, 1949 Jan.15, 1952 STONE 2,582,724

' PIPE SPINNER I Filed March 50, 1 949 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 a/Mx 96 m!INVINTDR.

Jan. 15, 1952 A..L. STONE 2,582,724

PIPE SPINNER Filed March so, 1949 4 Shet's-Sheet s FIG. '8.

FIG. 9.

Jan. 15, 1952 A. L. STONE 2,582,724

PIPE SPINNER Filed March 30, 1.949

4 Sheets-Sheet 4 I' l I: N' I IHI I ni INVENTOR- Patented Jan. 15, 1952stene,-.:Reaondo Beach; Calif... assign'or,

byimesne assignhients, to-;S ,tandard il'Devel-" op nentifiomnanygEliZabethy NuJ-i a; corp r e (omen-.35

This applicationis directed to a: pipe: spinner;-

It is ofttimesnecessary to rotate or spinacyf lindrical member aboutit's longitudin'alaxis. example of such an operation is iiithe'spin'fling-=0f sections of pipe making up 'the d'rill stem' used fordrilling boreholes by the rotary -methodi The present application isdirected to a spinner for spinning cylindriea-lmembers and particular lysections of pipe; the spinning motion-being given to such cylindricalmember'sw-ithou-tdeforming the outer surface thereof-and requiring onlyrelatively small amount's of power.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention may beseen fromthe renewing description takenin coni uncticn -w-ith the: drawing inwhich Fig. 1 is a topview, partly in section, showing an embodiment ofthe present invention-;- v V Fig. 2 is a view takeri along thelin- IlF-Hof Fig. 1; a

Fig. 3 is -a fragmentary' viewshowingdetailsfof construction of aportionof the device 'ir'rl i'gs 1 and 2;

Fi'g.- 4 shows-* portions of a? part of the "device of Figs. 1 and 2removed from the remainder thereofin order to showdetails more clearlFig. 7 is an elevation of tlie'embodiment sliownin Figs. 13to'6;

Fig. 8 is a top view of th'e spring 'member of Fig. 4 in the coiledshapeit naturally assumes:

Fig. 9 is a" top View; partly-insection; of another embodiment of-thepresent invention; I H g Fig; 10is aview taken al'ongline X Xof'Figr9';

Fig. 11 is a-v-iew taken along-line XI QE-of Fig. 9;

' Fig. 12 is an elevation'ofthe embodiment-shown in Figs.9to 11;

Fig; 13 is'a top'view; partly -i'n sectioniof another embodiment of the:present invention;

Fig. 14 is afragmentary'topeview of the enibodiment of Fig;13-showing1partswhich" were spring A' preformeuii itoi .a. clock sprin 5g is mounted in frame 3. A'prime" overq w is shown in the drawing as acompressed airmotor, is m'ountedon frame B. A drivingassemblyD ismountedtoniframe B and mechanicallyiinked tomotQrzC for winding andunwinding the spring A about an axis E. A guide means F is mountedonafra melB" arranged to slide between the end ofiztheispring; andthecoil adjacent thereto when unwinding'ithe spring about axis E wherebythe spring may? beallowed to form into a-coil having an: axis; G: FingerH and door J are mounted onsframeB.

Driving assembly D consists of adrum -il mounted ona; shaft 12 which,inturn, i's car-r'le'd by upper. bearingassembly I13 and lower bearingassembly:;l4. The end of shaft I 2 is coupled to zthesdrive shaft E5 ofprime mover C.

A flexible roller l6 which preferably' is formed of rubber is mounted onshaft. 1 1' which, in'turn, is mounted: on upper bearing assemb1y 'l8and lower bearing assembly I8'.. Roller"- I6 is designed-.smthatieitherit or drum. IG isSeparated from. spring A when: only one thickness ofthe spri gi's between it and drum l6 andto remain in frictional: contactwith springA when two or more thicknesses .o f the spring arebetween-drum H androl-ler-lfi: T hea'xis ofroller l'6isfixed,hence it;must deformr as 1 the number of thicknesses wrappedqong-drum I-I'is'increased or decreased. inqorder qto allow roller l6 to deformre'adilyit isa n fierableqto formit with a plurality of circum ferentialgrooves as shown in Fig; 2.

1er;.l6 is mechanically coupled to sha'ft lz through an overriddingclutch |9, gear 20l-and gear-11,; which lattergear' is keye'dztoshaftIT. This means forcoupling shaft H' to shaft- I2 is proportionedso that.the-roller I6 is driven-at a' faster rate than drum H" when the"drumis-r'o tated-in the; direction to unwind" spring: A fromaXiSrE-uthat is; in a counterclockwise direction when, looking downonspring A as in Fig: 1. Hqweven: overriding. clutchi 19' disengages shaftIT from shaft i2-5when rotating the shaft in" the opposite direction. toWind. spring A around-axis E,-.tha.t -is, when-rotating shaft t2 in-the'clockwise direction aswhen looking down upon it'in'Fi'gJ-L IGuide-assembly F ismounted on frame 7B" and arranged to .slip under thetip of spring A upon rotating. the, spring tounwind it, that is, iI1=itHcounterclockwise direction in theview of' Fig. .1. Assembly guides theend of thezspring sothat it'uncoils from. axis'F. and forms-asecond-coil around.axis- G.. poor J is=provided with-abottom shelmembenin which is adapted to support thedge oflspringA whenitis beingcoiledifs ,G"topreventit fromsagging. r "H is'mounted on frame B bymeans or pivot 22 with its freely movable tip arranged to guide spring Ain a coil being designated as 23 and its other end provided with a holefor receiving pivot 24 which connects it to link 25 which, in turn, isconnected through pivot 26 to lever arm 21. which is carried by frame Band free to turn therein. Hand lever 39 is also secured to shaft 28.

Door J is arranged to swing on rod 4 which is secured to frame B. Aspring 5 is arranged to bias the door J to a closed position. A link 6has one end secured to door J through pivot I and the other end providedwith a slot 8 adapted to receive a pin 9 secured to hand lever 30. Thelink- 7 ages connecting finger H and door J to hand-lever 39 thus allowmovement of hand lever 39 to be transmitted to finger H so that fingerHis opened Lever arm 21 is secured to shaft 28 or closed by movement ofhand lever 39. How:

ever, door J is only opened by hand-lever '39; When the hand lever ismoved to close finger H, pin 9 moves freely in'slot 8, the closing ofdoor J being accomplished by spring 5 which exerts a substantiallyconstant bias on spring A as its outside diameter decreases during thespinning operation.

Idler rollers 3I are mounted on post 32 which is fixed to frame B. Idlerrollers 33 are mounted on rod 4 which is fixed to frame B. Guide means Fconsists of a spring finger 35 mounted on post 32 and guide member 36also mounted on post 32.

Spring A is shown removed from frame B and straightened outin Fig. 4,and removed from the frame and allowed to' assume its natural coiledshape in Fig. 8. For convenience end 31 is designated the pickup tip andend 38 the driving end. Notch 39 is spaced a predetermined distance fromend 38. Y I

The preferred preformed shape of spring A is shown in Fig. 8. The outercoils should have a diameter somewhat greater than the pipe to be spunso that the spring will readily slip on the pipe when the spring isbeing coiled on or when being removed from the pipe. At least the firstcoil of the spring adjacent driving end 39 should be of such diameter asto engage drum I I snugly.

As seen in the drawing, tip 31 of spring A is thicker than the body ofthe spring. In manufacturing the device, this end portion may be a roundfile brazed to the end of the spring and ground away at its centersection where the pickup finger operates. Thus, in effect (see Fig. 4)the spring is provided with two spaced pipe gripping members witha spacebetween them at the center section of the spring. The additionalthickness of pickup tip 37 insures that guide means F will pass underthe end of the spring when it is to be uncoiled. The manner in whichguide member 36 of guide assembly F passes under the end of spring A atits center section where the tip 31 is ground away is shown in Fig. 16.The thickened end also tends to hold to the pipe 42 when the directionof rotation of drum II is reversed to wind the spring on the drum,thereby assisting in tightening the spring on the pipe preparatory tospinning the pipe without undesirable slippage of the spring. End 31 isalso preferably treated to reduce slippage on the pipe. Illustrativeexamples of how this may be done are byusing a round file for thismember, as described previously, or by cementing strips of emery clothto the inside of the coil.

Driving end 38 of spring A is also thicker than the body of the spring.In manufacturing the device, one method of forming this thickenedportion is by welding a bar to the end of the 4 spring. Driving end 38fits into a keyway 49 of drum I I. It will be seen that keyway 49 hasone radial edge and one beveled edge. As the coil A is being unwound,when all but the last coil is unwound from the drum, end 38 will slidealong the beveled edge of notch 40, thus permitting drum I I to continueto rotate without further unwinding the spring. When the direction ofrotation of drum II is then reversed, driving end 38 will catch inkeyway 49, starting the springto wind on the drum, even though there isno frictional contact between roller I6, drum II and spring A at thistime. And after two and more thicknesses ofspring are wound between drumII and roller I6, so that there is frictional contact, the engagement ofdriving end 38 in keyway 49 keeps the inside coil of the spring tight ondrum II.

It will-be seen that it is not necessary to stop drum II at any criticalpoint either when feeding out the spring A for engagement with the drillpipe or when coiling it back in its original position. Although normallythe spacing between drum I I and roller I6 prevents further unwinding ofspring A when a single coil remains on the drum, it is possible for thespring to buckle and make such contact that all the spring is fed fromthe drum. To insure that the driving end 38 is kept in contact with drumI I, a notch 39 is formed in the spring, and a latch M is mounted onframe B. When latch 4| engages with notch 39, no more of the spring maybe unwound from drum II.

The arrangement of notch 39 and latch 4I .allows a predetermined lengthof spring to be unwound from and rewound on drum I I. Usually it will bedesirable to space notch 39 such a distance from driving end 38 that asingle coil of spring A remains on drum II when latch 4| engages withthe notch.

When using the embodiment of Figs. 1 to 8 for spinning pipe, the springA will initially be coiled around axis E for engaging the spring withthe section of pipe to be spun, door J and finger H will be opened bymoving hand lever 30 to the position shown by dashed lines and thespinner placed on the pipe 42 so that the axis of the pipe willsubstantially coincide with axis G. Hand lever 30 will then be returnedto a position allowing finger H and door J to embrace loosely pipe 42.Prime mover C is rotated counterclockwise, as the device is viewed inFig. 1, to cause spring A to be unwound from axis E. When the drum II isrotated in this direction, roller I6 is also rotated but at a fasterrate than drum II. This insures that a tension is maintained on spring Aas it is fed from drum II whereby the spring is kept in a tight coil asit is fed out. When the drum II begins to rotate as described, thepickup end 31 of the spring strikes guide means F causing the end of thespring to slide along the guide finger until it is beyond the guidefinger whereupon'it forms another coil by sliding around the outersurface of pipe 42, the spring being guided by contact with finger H,door J and idler pulleys 3I and 33. The spring is kept from sagging asit coils about axis G by the ledge I9 of door J. The force used to feedout the spring is maintained by frictional contact between roller I6 andthe spring. Spring A stops feeding out either when frictional contactbetween spring A, drum II and roller I6 becomes insufficient to overcomethe resistance aiforded by that portion of the spring coiled about axisG or when latch 4| engages notch 39, depending upon which event occursfirst.

i in Figs. 13 and 14'.

v Fig. 10.

' bodiment'of Figs.'8' to 12 on means-F.

the balance of-spri'ng'A wrapped aroundthe' pipe is pulled into a tightcoil. Continued rotation of drum ll then spinsthe drill pipe as the coilis unwound from the pipe, at thistime both the pipe and the coil haveacommon axis. In this operation idler r011ersi'l are in contact with coilA and rollers 58 are in contact with drill pipe 42. If the pipe is spuntight-before all of the coilis unwound therefrom, the coil may bereleased by reversing the direction of rotation of drum II (that is,rotating it in the'counterclockwise direction) and at the same timemoving spring A away from pipe 42. This allows the spring to assume itspreformed diameter which is substantially greater than the-diameter ofthe pipe 42 and thereafter when drum 1 l is again rotated in theclockwise direction the end of the spring is readily uncciledfrom-pipe42.

' the end of the coil may be formed about axis M and this coil slippedover the upper end of that portion of the drill stem which is in theborehole. A section of pipe is then moved over and stabbed: on. to thedrill stem whereupon the spinner simply moves upwardly so that itembraces the lower end of the added section and 'the assembly then moveshorizontally so that thefriction rollers 51 force coil A into contactwith one sideof the pipe. Thereupon the drum ll may be rotated in aclockwise direction as .::edges of 'coil A.-

icdnnecteds'toplever arm BI and the other end connected to frame D".- V

The devieeof Figs. 13 and 14 is adapted for spinning pipe, which is neara horizontal position. The spring A is coiled on pipe 42 by drivingitfromidrum II with roller i6 as in the previously described embodiments.Since the .pipe is horizontal, no guide is required for the When springA is engaged with pipe 42, the 0011 on the pipe is squeezed ibetween thepipe and rollers 51 as shown in iFigrl3. Upon rotation of drum II in theclockwise direction the coil is first brought down to thesize of thepipe and then when pickup tip 31-becomes firmly wedged between pipe 42and :Ithe. adjacent coil of spring A, the pipe is spun.

The. embodiment of Figs. 13 and 14 cannot be satisfactorily. used forspinning vertical li'StaIIdS'Of pipe because the lower edge of the 1spring, not being'supported by a ledge, such as win the embodimentofFigs. 1 to 8 or 54 in :the embodiment of Figs. 9 to 12, would fallinto ::'a long spiral when fed from drum H.

HOW-

ij: ever, it represents a simple embodiment adapt- T ed for spinninghorizontal pipe.

/ The spring of the device of the present invention which embraces thepipe need not be formed in the preferredpreformed spiral shown in Fig.8.Another preformed shape of spring which may be employed satisfactorilyin any'of "the devices shown is illustrated in Fig. 15. The

1 portion .of the spring terminating in pick-up tip 38' is formed into arelatively tight spiral, while that portion adjacent driving end 38 isseen in Fig. 9 and the pipe spun. when the spinning operation iscompleted, the direction of rotation of drum -ll may be reversed and inany position; 'However, if the pipe to be spun is in a horizontalposition, as when screwing joints of pipe for a pine line, a simplerdevice may be used. An embodiment suitable for connecting horizontalsections of pipe is shown Thedevice of Figs. 13 and 14 has a frame Bwhich isgenerallysimilar to frame" B of Figs. 8 to 12 but without gatesK andL or operating levers 59 and '60. In order to simplify the drawingno elevation has been shown, nor

havethe means for driving the drum and roller I been shown. It will beunderstood that a prime mover, suchas C of Fig. 7 or Fig.1 2, may bemounted on frameB" and that a driving means D'will be provided such asshown in Fig. 2 or Frame B" has'drum ll, roller 16, latch 4|,

- posts 53' and 56"and guide means F mounted thereon. 'Spring AWsmounted as in the em- Rollers 51 and 58 are mounted on posts 53 and56"'to i fassi'st'inguiding spring A in' a coilh guide means F"include'sshaft 60' with lever arms 80 gand' 8 I secured the'reto. Spring"- 82 hasone end- :formed into a relatively loose spiral with the two spiralportions connected by a straight portion. SpringA maybe substituted forspring A inthee'mbodiment of Figs. 1 to '7 and the device will operateas heretofore described without any Similarly spring A" may beadditional change. substituted for spring A in the embodiment of Figs. 9to 12. -A preformed spring having only its driving e'nd shaped as a coilwith the remainder straight is also suitable for use in the embodimentsprovided with gates if the gates are closely fitted to guide thestraight end around the pipe to be spun. However, this is not apreferred embodiment since additional energy is requiredto deform thepreformed'straight end.

The spring itselfwhich is used for transmitting'power from the; primemover to. the pipe (shown as spring A in Figs. 1, 2, 4, 5, 6 and 8, as Ain Figs. 9, 10, 11,13 and 14 and as A" in Fig.

i5) is described and claimed in my copending application Serial No.111,289, filed August 19, 1949.

While I have'disclosed specific embodiments of the present invention, itwill be apparent to a workman skilled inthe art that various changes in'the size, shape and proportion .in the several parts may be made withoutdeparting from the scope of J the invention,

What I desire to claim as new and useful and to secure by Letters Patentis: Y

1. Apipe spinner for rotating a section of-pipe about itslongitudinalaxis comprising, in combination, a frame member, a drummounted on said frame memberfor reversible rotation about a first axis,a leaf spring having at least one end thereof preformed a spiral coilmounted on said drun' in'a coilwith th'e outer end of the coil free, adriving; roller mounted on said frame member contacting jsa'id springfor uncoiling said spring from -'-the first axis, a power means mountedon the frame mechanically coupled-t0 said driving roller and to saiddrum. a guide finger mounted on said frame adapted to fit between thefree outer end of said spring and the next adjacent coil for uncoilingthe spring from a coil about said first axis and a gate member hingedlymounted on said frame for arcuate movement about a second axis parallelto said first axis, said gate member comprising a projecting ledgeadapted to support the lower edge of said coil spring, said gate memberdefining a circular path for coiling the outer free end of said springabout the longitudinal axis of said section of pipe as it is beingunwound from said first axis.

2. A device in accordance with claim 5 in which two gate members arepivoted to said frame member for arcuate movement about second and thirdaxes, respectively. parallel to said first axis, whereby said gatemembers may assume open and closed positions, at least one of said gatemembers comprising a ledge for supporting said lower edge of said springwhen it is un:

coiled from said first axis, the inner surfacesof said gate membersbeing arcuate for guiding the free outer end of the spring into a coilabout the longitudinal axis of said section of pipe.

3. A pipe spinner comprising, in combination, a frame member, a drummounted on said frame member arranged for reversible rotation about afirst axis, a leaf spring having at least one end preformed to acircular shape mounted on said drum in a coil with the outer end of thecoil spring free, a power means mounted on said frame member in drivingconnection with said drum for coiling and uncoiling the spring about thefirst axis, and a guide member mounted on said frame member defining acircular path for coiling the outer free end of said spring about asecond axis when uncoiled from the first axis.

4. A pipe spinner comprising, in combination,

a frame member, a drum mounted on said frame member arranged forreversible rotation about a first axis, a leaf spring having at leastone end,

preformed to fit said drum member mounted on the drum in a coil with theouter end of coil' spring free, a guide member mounted on said framemember defining a circular path for coiling the outer free end of saidspring about a second axis parallel to said first axis when the springis being uncoiled from the first axis, and means to limit the amount ofspring uncoiled from said axis to a. predetermined length.

5. A device in accordance with claim 1 in which the inside surface ofthe outer free end of the spring has a pipe gripping member thereonwhereby the outer end of the spring has a greater affinity for the pipethan the subsequent coils have for each other.

6. A device in accordance with claim 5 in which a means for biasing thepipe toward the inner surface of the coil spring is mounted on saidframe member.

l. A device in accordance with claim 3 in which the inside surface ofthe outer free end of the spring has a pipe gripping means thereonwhereby the outer end of the spring has a greater affinity for the pipethan the subsequent coils have for each other.

8. A device in accordance with claim 3 in which the entire spring ispreformed into a coil.

9. A device in accordance with claim 3 in which a pipe gripping memberis secured to the inside surface of the outer free end of the spring,the pipe gripping member having a pipe gripping surface displaced awayfrom the inside surface of the spring and in which a pick up finger ismounted on said frame arranged to project between the free outer end ofsaid spring member and the adjacent coil when said spring is driven touncoil it.

10. A device in accordance with claim 3 in which two spaced pipegripping members are secured to the inside surface of the outer free endof the spring with each pipe gripping member having a pipe grippingsurface displaced away from the inside surface of the spring andwith aspace between the two pipe gripping members at the center section of thespring, and in which a pick up finger is mounted on said frame arrangedto project between the free outer end of said spring member in the spacebetween said, pipe gripping members at the center section of the springand the adjacent coil when said spring is driven to uncoil it.

11. A device in accordance with claim 1 in which a biasing spring isoperatively connected with said frame and with said gate to bias thegate against the leaf spring while said spring is being formed into acoil about the second axis.

12. A device in accordance with claim 3 in which the guide member ispivotally mounted on said frame and in which a biasing spring isoperatively connected with said frame and with said guide member to biasthe guide member against the leaf spring while said spring is beingformed into a coil about the second axis.

13. A device in accordance with claim 4 in which the guide member ispivotally mounted on said frame and in which a biasing spring isoperatively connected with said frame and with said guide member to biasthe guide member against the leaf spring while said spring is beingformed into a coil about the second axis.

ALBERT L. STONE.

REFERENCES CITED UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Terrell Nov. 21. 1944Number

